As the state of development of semiconductor components such as computer processor (CPU) modules has moved to increased levels of integration, the amount of heat these devices generate has significantly increased. For instance, processors handling large quantities of electrical current generate large amounts of heat. If this heat is not adequately dissipated, the increased temperatures produced by the semiconductor components will compromise their function and shorten their length of operation.
One approach for solving the growing heat dissipation problem is to attach components which transfer or dissipate heat by means of heat sinks. When the processor and the heat dissipation component are handled separately replacement of either component outside of the manufacturing environment is more difficult.
As heat sinks continue to increase significantly in size and weight to accommodate the increase of heat from processors the risk of damage to the processors due to mechanical overloading is increased. Therefore, there is an increasing need to manage the force that is created by the heat sink on the processor to minimize load conditions that could damage the processor.
When the processor and the heat dissipation component are handled as separate parts of a system, more particularly when the heat dissipation device must be subsequently added to the system, greater thermal and mechanical design margins are required to accommodate attachment of the independent parts. The separate approach to the heat management process increases the complexity of a computer system due to the need for additional system components, and thereby adversely impacts cost, and time to manufacture and repair. There is also a risk of quality problems associated with increased system complexity. Also, treating the processor and the heat sink separately precludes early testing of the processor and the heat sink which cannot be finally tested until they are assembled together.
Factors such as the increased integration levels and electrical connections on the processor increase the need for accurate alignment of the electrical connections on the circuit board. Further, the increased handling, transport, and use of the processor caused by the separate component design may increase the risk of contamination or other damage to the area grid array on a processor.
Further, maintaining separate units for a processor and a heat sink requires significant circuit board space since both modules require separate access during assembly and repair, resulting in large and expensive printed circuit boards. In these systems access to a processor is very difficult due to the size and crowding of the heat sinks on a circuit board.
The processor is an electrical component that requires shielding from electromagnetic (EMI) or radio frequency (RFI) interferences which it may generate. EMI and RFI will be referred to collectively herein as "EMI." Treating the processor and the heat sink as separate modules requires an EMI attenuation solution for the interface between the separate modules.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that there is still a need for a way to package heat sinks that adequately dissipate heat from processors while ensuring proper connection of the area grid array to the circuit board. There is a need for a package that minimizes the thermal path between the processor and the heat sink, and the space required on the circuit board for the processor and the heat sink. Further, there is a need to package heat sinks and processors without damaging the area grid array of the processor and without imposing mechanical stress on the processor that can lead to failure. There is also a need to minimize the number of parts required to provide the features of ease of installation, EMI containment, and heat management and thereby improve the repair and upgrade process, even at a customer site.